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Friday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
In Florida and beyond, long-term poverty is forgotten issue in 2020 election
About 38 million Americans live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census, including about 1.5 million in Florida. But their plight has garnered little more than a passing mention in this year’s presidential campaign, which has been dominated by healthcare, the economy and the coronavirus. Neither presidential candidate’s platform makes tackling long-term poverty a specific goal. Addressing poverty doesn’t appear as a high priority for most of Florida’s congressional candidates, either. If elected, they would be responsible for the fate of the nation’s safety net programs. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Visit Florida reaches out to Canada, England seeking tourists
Florida’s tourism-marketing agency has started to reach out to Canada and England while continuing to focus initial marketing efforts on Floridians and East Coast residents as the travel industry tries to rebound amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said the taxpayer-funded organization has started a campaign with The Weather Network, a Canadian English-language weather channel, and co-hosted a five-day virtual “TTG Florida Fest” this month with the travel industry newspaper TTG Media, trying to position the state for when travel by foreign tourists resumes. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Half of registered Floridians have voted as Election Day looms
Nearly 7.4 million Floridians have now voted in the 2020 general election — more than half of the state’s 14.4 million active registered voters. With days left before the end of in-person early voting, Republicans have cast 2.8 million ballots to Democrats' 3 million, according to data posted Thursday morning by the Florida Division of Elections. Voters without a party affiliation, who make up about a quarter of registered voters, have cast 1.5 million ballots. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Can Florida have tropical trouble in November?
The historically active 2020 hurricane season continues this week as Zeta impacts portions of the northern Gulf coast. With so much activity this year, it begs the question, can Florida be hit in the month of November? Unfortunately, the Sunshine State has been impacted by multiple tropical cyclones in November during the last 100 years. Eight systems have made landfall in the state during the month. [Source: Bay News 9]
What small businesses can learn from Disney about masks, distancing
Social media is full of images of people getting into shouting matches over face masks. Yet at Walt Disney World, a worker reminds a mother to put a mask on her child in a stroller, and she does it without question. The hospitality industry is based on the idea of doing whatever it takes to make the customer happy. The Ritz-Carlton famously gives its workers up to $2,000 to resolve conflicts. But, in the midst of a pandemic, companies large and small are trying to figure out how to enforce face mask and social distancing guidelines without angering their customers. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› UWF awarded $6 million grant to lead national cybersecurity workforce development program
The University of West Florida will lead a coalition of 10 institutions designated as National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity in establishing a program to address the critical national shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals in the U.S. The National Security Agency selected UWF to oversee the program, which will launch in the spring and be funded by a two-year, $6 million grant.
› State’s first snow park to hire 160 as it prepares for grand opening
Snowcat Ridge, which bills itself as Florida’s first-ever snow park, has set a grand opening date of Nov. 20 and seeks to fill 160 positions at the Dade City facility. According to a press release, Snowcat Ridge is interviewing for a wide range of full- and part-time jobs, including snow tubing attendants, skilift attendants, snow play attendants, concession staff, cashiers and shift supervisors. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
› Orange County raises transportation-impact fees, but keeps discounts
Developers and home-builders — and ultimately consumers in Orange County — will likely pay more next summer for a new home as county commissioners this week approved an increase of transportation-impact fees, a move proponents say was long overdue. The fees, a key funding source for new or improved roads, are typically passed onto home buyers by builders.
› Black-owned Jacksonville restaurants could share in a $10 million assistance program
Black restaurant owners in Jacksonville and 11 other cities nationwide could be eligible for financial aid, mentoring and other resources via a new program being launched by the National Urban League and PepsiCo. The Black Restaurant Accelerator Program announced Oct. 20 is intended to boost about 500 Black-owned eateries over the next five years.
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